We retired our "Five Bull Market Barometers" in mid-July last year to make room for a new weekly post that's focused on the three most important charts for the week ahead.

This is that post, so let's jump into this week's edition.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Check out this week's Momentum Report, our weekly summation of all the major indexes at a Macro, International, Sector, and Industry Group level.

By analyzing the short-term data in these reports, we get a more tactical view of the current state of markets. This information then helps us put near-term developments into the context of the big picture and provides insights regarding the structural trends at play.

Let's jump right into it with some of the major takeaways from this week's report:

* ASC Plus Members can access the Momentum Report by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Macro Universe:

• Our Macro list experienced widespread weakness this week as 81% of assets closed lower with a median return of -1.29%.
• The VIX index was the big winner, closing out the week with more than a 27% gain and registering fresh 13-week highs in the process.
• The biggest loser this week was Lumber, falling -7.13%
• This week, we saw a 6% drop in the percentage of assets on our list that are within 5% of their 52-week highs (...

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Top 10 report was just published. In this weekly note, we highlight 10 of the most important charts or themes we're currently seeing in asset classes around the world.

When the market provides us mixed signals, we dive beneath the surface to find more clues about the current environment. Here's the S&P 500 relative to U.S. Treasury Bonds, with the Russell 2000 overlaid. Note the similarity between them during the past year. When comparing stocks vs bonds it tells a story of not just where the alpha is but also how market participants are behaving. Similar to strength from small-caps, the ratio is a great gauge of risk appetite. Hence, why they look the same.

SPY/TLT tried to break out this week, but couldn’t quite get it done. As long as these charts continue to be trapped in their sideways ranges, expect more messy action for equities and risk assets in general. But, if and when we get upward resolutions, be ready for a more risk-on environment.

If there has been any alpha anywhere in this market, it's been in Crypto.

We don't care where the trends are. We just want to participate in them. They can be in Stocks, Energy, Metals, Euro, Crypto, doesn't matter.

I stopped caring a long time ago.

Here's Cardano reminding us what polarity is all about:

How much longer is this market going to be a mess?

Probably longer than you want it to be.

Why do you think defensive assets stopped going down 5-6 months ago?

It's Saturday Morning Chartoons time. 

This is the weekly post that aggregates all the charts we put together throughout the week and organizes them all into one, easy to flip through deck.

You can find the whole list of trades here.

Below you'll find the full PDF of this week's charts:

From the desk of Steve Strazza @sstrazza and Grant Hawkridge @granthawkridge

It’s been a while since we checked in on the US breadth scene, and for a good reason… there’s really nothing new to say.

Some US stocks are going up, but most are not.

Instead, our focus has been on expanding global breadth. We believe the burgeoning participation in international markets is constructive for US markets, specifically for cyclical areas. 

But are we beginning to see any signs of breadth expansion domestically? 

In today’s post, we'll switch gears and turn our attention stateside to address participation among US stocks.

Let’s dive in!

Here’s a look down the cap scale at all three S&P indexes, from large to small:

There's been literally no material move in the number of new...

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Ian Culley @Ianculley

Industrial metals have been one of the strongest subgroups within the commodity complex over the trailing year. 

The parabolic advance in Steel futures off last year’s lows is an excellent illustration of this.

But lately, we see more and more commodities shift toward sideways trends in the intermediate-term. And lots of them are doing so trapped beneath overhead supply. 

A quick glance at charts like crude oil or copper tells this story well -- the last four months have been a chop fest for most.

Despite an overall trendless market, we’ve seen pockets of strength from a diverse array of contracts. Steel isn’t the only one. In recent months, we’ve covered breakouts in Coffee, Sugar,...

This is the video recording of September 10th 2021 Weekly Jam Session with Sean McLaughlin.

This is the video recording of our September 10, 2021, All Star Charts Crypto Weekly Strategy Session.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Despite government officials trying to explain it away, inflation is running at its highest levels in years or (in the case of producer prices) decades. For now, however, the bond market shows little evidence of concern. After pulling back from 1.75% to 1.15%, the yield on the 10-year T-Note has risen in recent weeks but remains below 1.40%. It has bumped up against that level but has not been able to get through it. German yields have moved higher recently and seem to be giving US yields a green light to break out. Resiliency from Financials even as yields were retreating in Q2 and Q3 also argue for an upside resolution here. The high P/E, speculative growth sectors of the market ran out of steam when yields moved higher earlier this year and they could be vulnerable again if yields make a sustained move to the upside from here.

The big indexes offered us a little pullback this week which has been helping us identify the true standouts -- the stocks that are holding up best in a down tape. We're all about relative strength at All Star Charts as it is one of the most reliable indicators for us. And true leaders really identify themselves when they are swimming against the current while markets are sliding.

So on days and weeks like this, we're paying very close attention to the strongest sectors and keying in on the strongest stocks to see how they react.

Today, one those names is in the Capital Markets space where we're seen tremendous strength this year.

From the desk of Steven Strazza @Sstrazza and Ian Culley @Ianculley

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s Mystery Chart.

We questioned whether this consolidation would resolve in the direction of the primary downtrend--in which case we would expect a break lower.

Or maybe buyers would step in and defend those former lows once again.

Despite the lack of bearish momentum readings, many of you wanted to sell on a break below support, citing the primary trend as a major deciding factor.

And that's basically where our heads were, too, as it's always easier to go with the trend.

So what are we selling? Or should I say... buying?

The chart was the Small-Cap Technology ETF $PSCT… but it was inverted!

So those who wanted to sell on a breakdown were actually buyers, and vice versa.

Here’s a fresh look at the chart, right side up this time:

...

From the desk of Steven Strazza @Sstrazza and Grant Hawkridge @granthawkridg

Money really likes to flow where it's treated the best… and as far as sectors and even most industry groups go, there simply isn't much alpha out there at the moment.

In analyzing relative trends, we’re always aware of how the overall stock market is performing against defensive assets. 

In today’s post, we’re going to check in on those sectors investors pile into when seeking safety as opposed to positioning for risk.

Utilities, Real Estate, and Staples... the “bond proxy” groups. Let's dive in.

Here's a custom index of them all charted relative to the broader market.

Notice how the relationship has stopped trending lower since it bottomed back in July.

While many of these defensive groups had been in freefall versus the S&P, as JC discussed in this month's conference call, it’s interesting to see them trying to build out...

This is the video recording of the September 9th Town Hall Meeting w/ Willie Delwiche & JC Parets.

09/09/21 2PM ET

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Dividend Aristocrats are easily some of the most desirable investments on Wall Street. These are the names that have increased dividends for at least 25 years, providing steadily increasing income to long-term-minded shareholders.

As you can imagine, the companies making up this prestigious list are some of the most recognizable brands in the world. Coca-Cola, Walmart, and Johnson & Johnson are just a few of the household names making the cut.

Here at All Star Charts, we like to stay ahead of the curve. That’s why we’re turning our attention to the future aristocrats. In an effort to seek out the next generation of the cream-of-the-crop dividend plays, we’re curating a list of stocks that have raised their payouts every year for five to nine years.

We call them the Young Aristocrats, and the idea is that these are “stocks that pay you to make money.” Imagine if years of consistent dividend growth and high momentum & relative strength had a baby, leaving you with the best of the emerging dividend giants that are outperforming the averages.

By adding our...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Labor Day weekend in Wisconsin usually means one last summer trip up north for one last summer swim in the lake.

For me, this also meant the final jump off the giant raft we built (a ton of steel sitting on 12 barrels, with multiple jumping platforms and a slide that ends six feet above the water). Then, it was time to bring it back to shore to disassemble it for winter storage.  

Driving south toward Milwaukee at the end of the long weekend, I saw all sorts of summer toys being towed home for the winter. While it was not quite as warm as in August and the sunset came a bit sooner than it did in July, it was still a lovely evening and a chance to look back and also look ahead.

Our live Monthly Strategy Session concluded last night. For all the premium subscribers, this is where you can access/rewatch the video.

This post is an exercise we do for the non-members to give them an idea of the research we carry out at All Star Charts.

The Monthly Strategy Calls started out as a selfish endeavour whereby we wanted to stay in the loop and follow the big-picture trends. It's like recentering your navigation system to avoid taking the wrong turn. Then we realised this could be helpful to you guys as well! Just to step back and identify the larger trend.

Watching some of these cryptos, you wouldn't even know Bitcoin just got a 15% haircut after $4B worth of positions were steamrolled.

Take a look at Solana...

We thought that this extension target, particularly in the face of the recent action, would act as a logical level to consolidate these gains. But, buyers have continued their charge.

When the market completely ignores these extensions, that's information...

We debuted a new scan recently- The Outperformers.

The Outperformers is our newest scan that pinpoints the very best stocks in the market. It’s the fastest, easiest way to find quality names that are primed for major moves.

The goal is that as the market rally progresses, the sector rotation within the market will reflect in this scan. So while our Top/Down Analysis helps us with the broader view of the market, this Bottom/Up scan makes sure that we catch the slightest change in sentiment.